# Classical music that rocks. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2002, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835 "2002-11-26T04:34:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/41 "2002-11-26T22:31:50Z")
**Wagner** Overture to “Tannhauser” Prelude to Act III of “Lohengrin” Overture to “Rienzi” **Debussy** La Mer Fetes (2nd nocturne for orchestra) **Ravel** Bolero Daphnis and Chloe **Liszt** Les Preludes Totentanz **Verdi** - Dies Irae (from Requiem) **Handel** “For Unto Us A Child Is Born”, “Hallelujah Chorus” from Messiah Coronation Anthem from Zadok the Priest **Widor** - Toccata from Symphony #5 for Organ **Shostakovich** - Festive Overture op. 96 **Enesco** - Roumanian Rhapsody #1 **Rimsky-Korsakov** Scheherezade Procession of the Nobles (from Mlada) **Borodin** - Polovetsian Dances **Mussorgsky** Night on Bald Mountain Coronation Scene from Boris Goudonov ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/42 "2002-11-26T22:42:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by av8rmike \* > \*\*…while we’re talking Tchaikovsky, let’s not forget the racous 3rd movement of the 6th symphony, the “Pathetique.” Less cultured audiences will applaud heartily, not realizing the piece isn’t done yet. 🙂 \*\* As the OP mentioned, if you “crank it up to 11” one of two things will happpen: You’ll either blow your speakers or Your neighbors will jump out of their skin within a 3 block radius. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/43 "2002-11-26T22:55:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cisco \* > \*\ ***Beethoven’s 9th** , the one performed in _Immortal Beloved_. Great movie, great song. Other renditions I’ve heard just can’t stand up to that one (does anyone know who did it?) \*\* Side note: have you ever heard Leonard Bernstein conducting the 9th with (for lack of a better term) a world symphony orchestra in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate right after the fall of the Berlin Wall? [(Excerpts Linked here)](http://trumpet.sdsu.edu/M151/Beethoven_9th.html). In the 3rd (or is it the 4th?) movement they modified the wording to Freiheit (deutsch for freedom). Don’t tell anyone, but it gives me a chill and brings a tear to my eye whenever I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/44 "2002-11-27T03:00:18Z")
Ah, you gotta listen to the ninth with the volume turned up and headphones on on a commuter bus. As you know, people can still hear what you’re hearing, faintly, if you have it on loud enough. When the choral starts, the head of your next door neighbor will turn. I’m not really obnoxious so I don’t do this often, just every once in a while when I’ve had a tough day at work and I just have to get my fill. And I actually will listen to all of the Brandenburg Concertos (Bach) with the sound turned up just because they’re so freakin’ pretty. Actually, I’d probably listen to just about anything by Bach with the sound turned up. Of course, if you do this on the bus, your neighbor might get the driver to call the cops if you’re listening to the Tocatta thingie. (Rollerball theme, in case you’re wondering.) ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/45 "2002-11-27T05:06:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pantom \* > **… > And I actually will listen to all of the Brandenburg Concertos (Bach) with the sound turned up just because they’re so freakin’ pretty…** This brings back nostalgic memories of my first classical lp’s… in this case Wendy/Walter Carlos _Switched on Bach_. I would play the first movement of the Third Brandenburg at max volume. My girlfriend called it “rubber-band music” because of the twangy timbres used. A sample can be played from [this page](http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=836452399/pagename=/RP/CDN/FIND/album.html/ArtistID=CARLOS*WENDY/ITEMID=1426252) It is still a very special piece of music for me. The end of the first movement, with the long build-up leading to a brief sojourn in g minor, and then the glorious re-cap in G major, ahh it’s better than sex (actually it’s the same as sex :eek: ) ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/46 "2002-11-27T13:50:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pantom \* > \*\*And I actually will listen to all of the Brandenburg Concertos (Bach) with the sound turned up just because they’re so freakin’ pretty. Actually, I’d probably listen to just about anything by Bach with the sound turned up. \*\* I love the Brandenburg Concerti–I was listening to No. 5 driving in to work this morning–but I don’t usually crank them up. They’re nice for keeping me from getting all aggravated in traffic. > [@](#): > > \*\*Of course, if you do this on the bus, your neighbor might get the driver to call the cops if you’re listening to the Tocatta thingie. (Rollerball theme, in case you’re wondering.) \*\* I have a (mildly) funny story about this piece. I just bought 3 CDs to play in the car a couple of months ago (my new car has a CD player, so I thought I ought to have something to put in it). I got Bach’s “Greatest Hits,” some Beethoven, and the previously mentioned Gershwin with _Rhapsody in Blue_. Out in the mall parking lot, I unwrapped the Bach set and put the first CD in to try it out. No music right away. I started to poke at the controls; I had not touched the CD player before this and didn’t really know what I was doing with the thing. Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor came blasting out: BA-DA-DUM, DA-DUM-DUM! So loud that I covered my ears, and the other people in the parking lot turned to stare before I sheepishly turned it down. However, it does strike me that this would be a good Bach piece to play loudly under the _right_ circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/47 "2002-11-27T14:10:57Z")
Many of the above mentioned, plus Bernstein’s _Jeremiah Symphony_ Liszt _Mephisto Waltz_ Prokoffief’s 1st and 5th symphonies ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/48 "2002-11-27T15:05:45Z")
Another vote for Wagner’s _Tannhauser Overture_. Look for the Eugene Ormandy version. Also another vote for Rimsky-Korsakov’s _Scheherazade_, with Leo Stokowski at the podium. Especially the last movement. Regarding Holst’s _The Planets_, do indeed get the whole work, but the one to crank is Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age. When it reaches the section that starts off sounding like slow footfalls in the bass string register, be prepared: it builds to extraordinarily massive majesty. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/49 "2002-11-27T19:13:02Z")
Tchaikovsky’s _Marche Slav_. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/50 "2002-11-27T20:00:54Z")
It’s not classical classical (meaning, it’s a modern piece), but Copland’s _Fanfare for the Common Man_ is excellent. I’m also a fan of _Flight of the Bumblebee_, among all the others mentioned here. Snicks ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/51 "2002-11-27T23:35:15Z")
I have a pair of CDs titled _Heavy Classix_ and _Heavy Classix II_. Sounds like just what you’re looking for. Amazon has them [here](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002SO9/qid=1038440249/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-5344089-5100040?v=glance&s=music). ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/52 "2002-11-28T02:00:30Z")
I will second or third Bach’s _Toccata and Fugue in D minor_ I don’t think anyone has mentioned Leonard Bernstein’s _Overture_ from _Candide_ ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/53 "2002-11-28T13:02:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\ ***Wagner’s** _Ride of the Valkyries_. > > Preferably, in a helicopter. \*\* Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/54 "2002-11-29T07:23:03Z")
Sibelius’ _Finlandia_, _En Saga_ and _Luonnatar_ would all seem to fit the bill. And Holst wrote more than just _The Planets_; look for his “Cotswold” symphony, or the _Moorside Suite_, or _The Perfect Fool_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/55 "2002-11-29T19:34:51Z")
For stuff that has to be played at maximum volume, I recommend: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and many other pieces by Ludwig Wagner’s Ride of the Valkeries Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture Rossini’s Overture to William Tell (the Lone Ranger theme as I call it) Mozart’s 20th Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D Minor Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/56 "2002-11-30T02:31:29Z")
Aaron Copland’s _Rodeo: Hoedown_ and another _Rhapsody in Blue_ They don’t rock, necessarily, but I can’t get enough of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![leechow09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@leechow09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechow09)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/57 "2003-03-02T06:09:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mack \* > **Also, the Finale of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony is a pretty raucous affair.** But it sucks. The last movement kills the whole piece. (I am pretty sure all the critics would support me on tthat one.) ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835/58 "2003-03-05T04:43:28Z")
Borderline for this thread, but I think it’s just dramatic enough to make it: Sibelius’ Concerto for Violin & Orchestra in D Minor. Available on the disk _Sibelius Nielsen Violin Concertos_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-that-rocks/138835.md?page=2)